Fall

Do you know what’s really special about us here at CSBC? NOTHING! Absolutely nothing! If you are looking for a perfect church then you are going to be very disappointed with us. At CSBC you’ll find real people, with real problems, who live real lives, and are all learning to love a real God whose grace is more than enough for all our needs. You see, here at CSBC we don’t need to cling to our own “special-ness” or “goodness” because of the cross of Jesus Christ. At His cross we find that we are really not so “good” after all. In fact, we discover that we are unquestionably guilty and yet can be unconditionally forgiven. At Jesus’ cross we learn that He does not want to condemn us in our sins but to save us from them. At the cross we find that God receives us just where we are but He loves us enough not to leave us there. God can and will change lives. He is changing us and can change you as well. So here at CSBC there are only people. People like me. People like you. People like us. People who desperately need God’s grace. Everyone is welcome to come and receive that grace. We invite you to join us on this life-changing journey. Welcome Home to Chestnut Street Baptist Church!

Sunday - April 6, 2014 · The Big Story: Fall

Genesis 3; Psalm 36:1-2; 51:3-5; Romans 3:10-26; 5:12-21

Every Big Story (religion, philosophy, worldview) must explain suffering, pain, and evil in this world. What are some of the explanations you have heard? What are the strengths and shortcomings of those explanations?

How have you observed each of these disciplines to try and address the problem of “sin” in our world: politics? education? sociology? business? The arts? What are the strengths and shortcomings of those approaches?

Genesis 1:31, “And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good.” The Big Story of Scripture tells us that evil was not part of God’s original design. What would it communicate about the nature of the creator if he had created the world as flawed and evil?

While Genesis 2:25says, “the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed,” according to Genesis 3:7,10, what was the result of sin entering the world? Relationally, what do you think it means to be “naked and unashamed” before one another? “naked and unashamed” before God?

Genesis 3:9.God knew Adam and Eve had sinned, yet he sought them out. When you sin, do you think God comes searching for you? What does Jesus reveal in Luke 19:10 and Matthew 18:12-14?

Genesis 3:11-13. In what ways do we “play the blame game” today?

Romans 5:12, 19tells us that because of Adam and Eve’s sin we are all rebels - born in a broken relationship with God (cf. Psalm 51:5; Eph. 2:1-3). Why do you think we struggle with the idea we are born rebels?

“God’s law is seamless. The Bible speaks not of God’s laws, as if many of them, but of God’s law as a single whole” (Jerry Bridges). How does this explain James 2:10: “For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it”? So then, is there any such thing as a “little” sin? What does this do to our comparisons, “At least I have never…”?

Psalm 36:1-2.The Psalmist warns the person who would “[smooth] himself in his own eyes that his iniquity cannot be found out.” We all smooth over our sins saying, “It isn’t that bad,” or “Everybody does this,” or “God doesn’t sweat the little things.” What is the danger when live like this??